AMD Bobcat Fusion products (Ontario & Zacate to start).

Pretty simple really, this is the place to discuss possible future products from Apple using AMDs Bobcat based Fusion products. Obviously no one free to talk knows if AMD & Apple will partner with products using this platform but it would be almost silly not to.

Some possibilities that run through my mind:

1.
New AIR like thin notebooks (hopefully correcting the current devices mistakes). I could see Apple retrofitting the current AIR but also introducing an even smaller AIR. Either way Apple should be able to reduce costs significantly while giving AMD a good price for its Bobcat processor.

2.
New Minis. Here the concern would be matching overall CPU performance of the current machines. The book is still open here and frankly AMD is still keeping important parameter to itself. If suitable the Mini could end up being an even lower power device.

3.
Lets say the current chips don't cut it for the Mini (for whatever reason), then why not a HTPC optimized Mac. Such a Mac need not be large but it needs to support easy access to multiple disks.

4.
Mac Book update! Like the Mini overall performance will have to match or exceed the current Mac Book. If this is possible we could expect a thinner and lighter Mac Books with even longer battery lifetimes. Maybe even cheaper Mac Books.

5.
A tablet Mac! This would be tough to market with iPad in the mix, but if it is clear that the Mac tablet is very much a Mac it might fly. The trick of course is minor Touch updates to the Mac GUI to better support a touch screen.


Those are possible implementations to discuss, but we shouldn't ignore the chips themselves. The Bobcat core is a bold move on AMDs part and should see rapid adoption in the industry. It could easily be called a break through device. Especially interesting is the thermals. In depth discussions will have to wait for more info of course.

Mainly because it looks like one of these could go inside AIR and actually give one better performance. That is if the chip lives up to some of the claims floating about. The CPU performance could be marginally better but more importantly the chip could extend battery lifetimes significantly in thin devices like AIR.

I don't think it has a chance in the iOS devices at all so we are in total agreement there.

However that should not prevent Apple from offering up other solutions for Mac OS/X beyond AIR. A Mini with one of these could be the best thing that ever happened for HTPC, if Apple would market such a device at much lower price. This chips set should allow for that as it provides the performance required at very low cost.

Likewise for the Mac Book. Especially considering Mac Book sales to college students where battery lifetimes are at the top of the check list in importance. If Apple can sell it for $300 less than the top of the line Mac Book why not go for it. If they have to call it Mac Book LP for low power with a battery that last all day. In the end if they end up with a model that can fit into the $500 to $650 base price range they effective have a way to go after the low end market. The thing is I believe Steve when he said they didn't know how to make a decent PC for the $500 price segment, but these new higher integration chips put a dramatically different spin on the subject. These are not ATOM class chips at all when it comes to performance.

Maybe it is all wishful thinking on my part.

Or give it battery lifetimes it really deserves. Given that a 10 to 11 inch AIR should be a good possibility.

This will likely be the first big impact as vendors can now tell Intel to take a flying trip to someplace special. Many vendors are very upset with Intel and their artificial restrictions on ATOM, so one of the benefits of AMD's Fusion initiatives is to put pressure on Intel to come clean.

Yes especially for my non Mac needs. I'm hoping AMD has put a lot of effort into Linux drivers for the chips, Windows too for that matter.

Well a 1.6 GHz Zacate would be a down grade for some operations but I'm really hoping Zacate has a wider frequency spread than AMD is letting on. As to a Low Power Mini, for some uses that would be the most important feature. Especially if this low power device can handle 1080P video gracefully.

Well obviously if ultimate CPU performance is your goal, Zacate by definition is the wrong APU. Zacate should be compared with similar chips such as Intels ATOMs and ULV CPUs. It makes no sense to compare this chip to a high clock i5 or I7, these are targetted at completely different uses.

The thing to understand is that Zacate dramatically out performs the Intel chips it competes with. If you compare Zacate with Intels i5 it is like racing a Miata against a Ferrari, both cars are sporty but certainly different different beasts.

I don't get this attitude, it very much looks like Zacate would produce a better performing AIR in many ways. AIR currently is running very old tech with no clear upgrade path from Intel. Beside Apple would likely be able to lower hardware prices at least a couple of hundred dollars.

There is really no justification this attitude, people buy Apple hardware for many reasons, even if the prices seem high to some. Besides Zacate represents exactly what Apple needs to make lower cost high performance devices. Most likely this device will sell for under $100, probably well under that to Apple. That provides for a whole new generation of portable low power devices. I honestly think people are underestimating just where these technologies are leading us to.


Dave